Although Gunwharf Quays opened on February 28, 2001, the complex starts its celebrations on Monday with a special cake-cutting ceremony by the lord mayor of Portsmouth at 3pm

Blake House in a view from the upper penthouse level under construction in 2001

Yesterday we looked at HMS Vernon, the ‘stone frigate’ which preceded Gunwharf Quays before it was redeveloped over six years into one of the south’s leading shopping, residential and leisure complexes.

Today we recall the building programme which transformed the site.

The huge hole excavated for Gunwharf Quays's massive underground car park with The Hard in the background

A site you will rarely see today - a deserted Gunwharf Quays shortly before it opened in February 2001